


like a whisper, like a breath

by lunarlunch



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: (she's there in spirit anyway), Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-15 10:42:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9231284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarlunch/pseuds/lunarlunch
Summary: Something odd is always bound to happen when you're with Shizuku, but Machi didn't expect this.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story assumes Hisoka and Chrollo's fight took place sometime in the spring and is set about a week before the Dark Continent voyage.

Machi wiped the sweat from her brow. 

Despite several fans and a creaky AC unit, the inside of the noodle shop didn't offer any relief from the mugginess that had engulfed the city. While Machi was uncomfortable in her tank top and sweatpants, Shizuku, dressed in her usual outfit, didn't seem to notice the heat at all. She barely shifted as she watched a TV placed above the cook making their order. It was playing a singing competition on mute, the same show Nobunaga had been watching religiously every night for the past week. Chances were good that he was currently complaining to Franklin about how the judges were cheating his favorite singer out of a win.

They left with four large bags of food just as the finalists were being selected. Outside, the street was just as busy as when they entered the shop, teeming with future passengers of the Dark Continent voyage. Many were trying to kill some time before the ship set sail, either by heading for the shade of the nearby park or by exploring the stores that surrounded it. There were no familiar faces among the crowd, just as it had been every day since they arrived in the city. Machi had a feeling it would stay that way until they boarded the ship.

Still, she remained vigilant, barely paying attention to the kinds of shops they were passing until Shizuku started drifting towards one of them. It was a home decor shop, with a sign boasting locally made candles and a window filled with other handmade knick-knacks. But what had caught Shizuku's attention were the many wind chimes hanging from stands on each side of the window. Small and large, metal and wooden - they were all silent until Shizuku ran a finger over them. 

The way the chimes absorbed Shizuku's attention reminded Machi of another time, the day before Shizuku had formally joined the Troupe. It had been sunny then, too, though not humid enough that the streets were hazy with it. They had stopped outside a jewelry store. Shizuku's glasses were missing and she wore an oversized band t-shirt, faded and ripped at the bottom. Her hair was longer, messier. Machi had been...

Machi hadn't been there. She didn't meet Shizuku until months later, while on a mission. As she stared at her reflection on the store window, she could almost see it being replaced with Pakunoda's - barely holding back an amused smile as Shizuku pressed her nose against the glass to get a closer look at the gaudy earrings.

It had been almost a year and she still wasn't used to Pakunoda's memories. At first they had been constant and intense, but as the months went by, they became more sporadic, sneakier. What bothered her more than the intrusion into her thoughts, however, was when these glimpses into Pakunoda's life ended. The memories stayed with her, but she could never recall them as vividly as that first time. In a small way, it was like losing Pakunoda all over again. 

"What's wrong?" 

Machi snapped back to the present to find Shizuku giving her an odd look. It held some concern and what seemed like sympathy. 

"Nothing," Machi answered. 

Shizuku stared at her a moment longer before turning back to the chimes, plucking a small one off the stand, and dropping it into a takeout bag. By the time the shop door opened, the two had slipped back into the crowd. 

A few blocks later, Shizuku pulled the wind chime out. It tinkled faintly as she blew against the windcatcher, a flat piece of wood on which a small cat, curled into a circle, had been engraved. Machi watched the cat spin with each breath, waiting until it had slowed down before speaking.

"Why a cat?" 

Shizuku stared down at the pendant. 

"It reminded me of Paku," she finally said. "I suddenly missed her while I was looking at all those wind chimes."

"I did, too."

The words slipped out before Machi could stop them, but she didn't quite regret saying them. It was too strange a coincidence to let it pass by without comment. 

Shizuku nodded.

"I thought it might've been something like that," she said, as if it was a normal thing to pick up on. They were reaching the end of the block and about to turn a corner when she said, "She took in a cat when I was staying with her. Black, I think." 

"She never could resist a stray," Machi said. 

By now, they were almost at their hideout. The crowd had thinned considerably, many disappearing into old multi-story homes that had been converted into apartments. The only people who weren't interested in escaping the heat were a group of kids playing on the cracked sidewalk ahead of them. 

Shizuku blew on the chime again. She was about to do it again when she stopped abruptly.

"Oh," she said.

"What?"

"There won't be any wind when we're on the boat," she said, frowning. "This won't be any good."

"No, I guess not." 

The cat, fast asleep under the afternoon sun, still spun. Machi doubted the chime would even make it on to the boat, but it didn't matter. She knew it had served its purpose.

**Author's Note:**

> I set out to write Shizuku, but ended up focusing on Machi. Oh well...
> 
> This story was completely different when I first started writing it. It originally took place in the actual hideout and started with a very wise looking cat waiting at the door. Nobunaga had been feeding this cat since they arrived in the city, but it always ignored him for Machi, and later Shizuku. This made him very jealous and that was basically his entire role (which is better than Franklin, who was just there to hear Nobunaga's grumbling). There was also going to be talk of a ghost in the house, which only Shizuku and the cat could see. Then, while talking about it over dinner, Machi would see Pakunoda's memory. And if there already wasn't enough weird stuff going on, the earlier draft was set a few weeks after Shalnark and Koltopi died! That alone made the mood more depressing than the ~mysterious~ one I wanted, so I started over with just Paku's memory and a cat and the end result was this story.


End file.
